An airport in Denmark has been forced to close after drones were spotted nearby, local police have said.

Incoming and departing flights from Aalborg Airport were halted following the incident on Wednesday night.

In a post on X, Nordjyllands Police said: “Drones have been observed near Aalborg Airport and the airspace is closed. The police are present and investigating further.”

The force said more than one drone was sighted in the airport’s airspace, adding that it was not known if they were the same ones that affected Copenhagen Airport earlier this week.

It said the purpose of the drones was unknown, and it was not clear who was controlling them, but they were flying with their lights on.

Aalborg is located in the north of the country, in the Jutland region, and is Denmark’s fourth-largest city by population.

Denmark’s national police said the drones followed a similar pattern to the ones that had halted flights at Copenhagen Airport.

It also said it had received notices of drones in other parts of the country. It said the Danish Armed Forces were also affected as they use Aalborg Airport as a military base.

Danish police later said the unidentified drones were no longer located over the airport’s airspace.

Southern Jutland police later said drones had also been observed near airports in the Danish towns of Esbjerg, Sonderborg and Skrydstrup. Fighter Wing Skrydstrup in Southern Jutland is the base for Denmark’s F-16 and F-35 fighter jets.

Denmark’s national police commissioner, Thorkild Fogde, said many people around the country had reported drone sightings to the police since the disruption earlier this week.

“Of course many of these reports do not cover activities that are of interest to the police or the military, but some of them do, and I think the one in Aalborg does,” he said.

The incident at Copenhagen Airport on Monday was described by the government as the most serious attack yet on its critical infrastructure and linked the drones to a series of suspected Russian drone incursions and other disruptions across Europe.

Authorities in Norway also shut the airspace at Oslo airport for three hours after a drone was seen there.

Denmark‘s prime minister later said she “cannot deny” that drones seen over the airport were flown by Russia.

Authorities in Norway and Denmark are in close contact over the incidents in Copenhagen and Oslo, but their investigation has not yet established a connection, Norway’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.

It also comes after disruption at Heathrow Airport last week following a cyber attack that also hit other major airports in Europe.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s moment in the United Nations General Assembly chamber came a day after he told Sky News that Donald Trump’s language represented a “big shift” in America’s stance on Ukraine. 

The dust is settling on US President Trump’s social media post on Tuesday.

While it unquestionably represents a shift in position – now claiming Ukraine can take back all of the land lost – big questions remain about Mr Trump‘s personal and material commitment to a Ukrainian victory.

Mr Zelenskyy is taking the win that the language represents, but he, more than anyone, knows that Mr Trump can turn on a dime.

And so his speech was a warning, a message and a continued plea for help.

The Ukrainian leader cited history in warning that Russia won’t stop unless it is defeated.

Mr Zelenskyy said: “We have already lost Georgia in Europe. Human rights and the European nature of the state system are only shrinking there.

“Georgia is dependent on Russia and for many, many years, Belarus has also been moving towards dependence on Russia.”

“Putin will keep driving the war forward, wider and deeper… Ukraine is only the first. Russian drones are already flying across Europe.”

“Europe cannot afford to lose Moldova too,” he said.

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Drawing on the experience of his country, he warned of what he said was a uniquely dangerous proliferation of weapons.

“We are living through the most destructive arms race in human history,” he said, warning specifically of the dangers of drones which will soon be controlled by artificial intelligence (AI).

But he also warned of the proliferation of the use of violence, whether it be from nation states or from political activists.

He cited the assassination attempts on Mr Trump and the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

He included these moments not just because he believes they represent a dangerous and tragic shift but because he knows he needs to keep President Trump and his base of support on side. Showing empathy with them is important.

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He spoke in perfect English. Not long ago, he struggled with the language. He knows that now, more than ever, he needs to communicate in the language of those who hold the key to his country’s future.

“Of course, we are doing everything to make sure Europe truly helps, and we count on the United States,” he said.

He closed with a plea to the nations of the world, gathered in the chamber.

“Don’t stay silent while Russia keeps dragging this war on… Please join us in defending life, international law and order,” he said.

“People are waiting for action.”

There is something peculiar about the Chinese government that makes its targets very different to those in countries like Britain.

That quirk gives analysts some hope after it’s “timid” announcement on the green transition – and as Donald Trump yesterday condemned climate change as a “hoax”.

The good news is that China has, for the first time, made a commitment to cut its greenhouse gas emissions. It’s a landmark moment.

In a video statement to the UN in New York, President Xi Jinping vowed China would cut emissions by 7-10% by 2035, while “striving to do better”.

But it is still “critically short” of the roughly 30% believed to be necessary from the world’s biggest greenhouse gas polluter and clean tech superpower, analysts said.

Juan Manuel Santos, former president of Colombia and chair of The Elders, a group of global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela, said: “China’s latest climate target is too timid given the country’s extraordinary record on clean energy – both at home and through its green partnerships with emerging economies.”

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China also chose not to say when it thinks its emissions will peak – allowing plenty of time for them to keep rising before they then fall.

But here’s why all is not lost – far from it.

In the West, targets are often aspirational. They are knowingly optimistic, sometimes wildly so, because the purpose isn’t necessarily to hit them.

Instead, they are designed to provide some certainty to investors, energy companies, local authorities and so on about where the country is headed, stimulating them all to kick into gear.

‘Taking targets seriously’

The Chinese work differently. In fact, they have a record over under promising and over delivering on climate targets.

Why?

“In China’s top-down political system, setting and evaluating targets is a key means through which the central government manages the country,” says Zhe Yao from Greenpeace Asia.

“As a result, there is a strong political culture of taking targets seriously. This mentality means policymakers usually take a realistic approach to setting targets rather than treating them as aspirations.”

Just look at their wind and solar rollout: meeting a target of 1,200GW by 2030 six years early.

Today they pledged to more than double today’s capacity of around 1,400GW to 3,600GW by 2035 – rates many countries can only dream of. There are other targets China has missed – such as to “strictly control” coal power – but still that record gives analysts hope.

Another ray of light is the fact that it was delivered by Xi himself – this is perceived as the commitment being more serious than if it was delivered by anyone else.

And “striving to better” sounds weasley, but suggests they aim to overachieve, and again should be taken more seriously from President Xi than perhaps we would from other leaders.

US and EU fall short

China is far from alone in disappointing with its pledge, made as a part of its latest five-year climate plan (known as nationally determined contribution or NDC), something all countries are doing this year as per the Paris Agreement.

The US government under Trump has ditched climate action altogether. The EU, which thinks of itself as ambitious, failed to come up with its own plan on time, effectively coming to the UN this week with an “I Owe You” instead.

With other leaders faltering, there was less heat on Beijing to step up.

Even the 10% reduction in emissions will “still put the world on a pathway to catastrophic climate impacts” says Kate Logan, director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

So let’s hope this target will not just be hot air, but another one for cautious China to overachieve.